Dark Mirror
by venkaskribbles
Summary: A year after Slade's madness tore their world apart, Team Arrow has begun a new chapter in their lives. As they start a new venture together, a growing criminal mastermind begins to take hold of the city, threatening their hard won progress. Focused on the new enemy, Oliver fails to see the darkness that seeks to be first in his heart. (Rating/warnings for later chapters) COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

NOTES: (Please read!) Hello everyone! This fic takes place about a year after my previous fic "I'm Not Sorry." I fully admit to still be shaping this story in my head, but the beginning always started the same, so I thought I would get that out of my head first and take if from there. This fic will probably get quite dark in later chapters. I'm having some fun with characters from the comics, but will (like the show) be taking my own spin with them. Thanks for reading!

DISCLAIMER: Not mine! I do for the love of Olicity!

* * *

 _ **Chapter 1: Bright Start**_

* * *

As warm light of the late afternoon flooded through the windows of the bedroom, Oliver allowed himself the rare luxury of waking up without an alarm. Both his days and evenings had been unusually hectic the last few months, and it was not often he got the chance to just let his body take as much time to sleep as it needed. Between establishing his own off-shoot of Queen Consolidated-a new tech startup Q-Core-and working with the rest of Team Arrow to limit the recent increase of organized crime, finding time to sleep was not typically at the top of his priority list.

In the year since Slade's madness had laid waste to his life, everything about his world had shifted. There was something freeing in starting over, and more often than not he found that he was content, even happy. That was not something he could have guessed would have been possible a year ago. A yawn demanded a fresh supply of oxygen as he squinted against the light and turned to take a peek at the bedside clock.

 _16:35_

He laughed. Now he felt really lazy.

"Do I even want to know what time it is?" Came the mostly asleep voice of Felicity Smoak. She rolled over from her side of the bed and nuzzled against his side, hair an impressive disaster as it always was in the morning. He turned on his side and hooked his top leg over her hip, pulling her closer as he rested his chin on the top of her head. Of all the things that had changed, this was undoubtedly, the best.

"Not particularly." He replied with a smile, taking in the familiar scents of vanilla and citrus from her shampoo. She made a rather unlady-like grunt against his chest.

"Ugh, that means we really DO need to get up." She tried to start wiggling out from his embrace, but he only squeezed his leg around her tighter, locking his heel behind her knee. "Hey!" She put the palm of her hand flat against his bare chest and pushed back so she could look him in the eye. "None of your bed ninja nonsense! The opening gala is tonight, and SOME of us take some work to look stupid sexy all dressed up." She got enough leverage to sit half-way up and look over his shoulder to see the clock. Squinting, when she saw the time she doubled her efforts to escape. Freeing an arm she smacked him on that glorious butt of his. "Oliver! I've got a hair appointment in 30 minutes!"

Ignoring her thrashing about, he turned his head to the crook her neck, nuzzling along the edge of her jawline.

"I thought you were a fan of the my bed ninja skills…" he commented innocently, hand slipping under her oversized MIT shirt.

"That's irrelevant at this juncture!" She tried to no avail to get her hip free, and his hand's maddening ascent under her shirt as going to end the argument shortly if she didn't escape soon. With a grin, she decided to turn the training he had been giving her against him, and used her free arm to deliver a quick, but effective, elbow strike to the common peroneal nerve above the side of his knee. With an involuntary motor function failure and surprised yelp, she was free.

Seizing the opportunity, she quickly rolled off the bed, grabbed her glasses, and made a mad dash for the bathroom.

With a groan Oliver rubbed his leg. "Don't think you're not going to pay for that later!" He shouted in the direction she had fled, quietly pleased that she managed to surprise him with that one.

"Add it to my tab!" Came her voice from deeper in the bathroom before he heard the shower turn on. Sitting up and swinging his legs around to the floor, he looked over towards the wardrobe to see that she had hung his favorite tux out for him the day before. He wiggled his toes on the leg she had elbowed, chasing off the last of the tingling sensation her well-placed strike had given him. Nodding with approval, he stood and made his way to the kitchen. He and Digg had worked with her a lot over the past year, and while she was not an offensive fighter, her self-defense skills had become very impressive. She was fast and a quick thinker, and that alone had gotten her out of more scrapes than he cared to admit she had been in over the past year.

He pulled down a large coffee mug and a travel mug, setting them down on the massive granite countertop with a yawn. Using, what he believed to be the greatest invention ever, he made a massive cup of dark roast coffee with the Keureg machine Lyla had bought him the first time she tasted the coffee he brewed in the lair. Wrapping his hands around the steaming mug when it was done, he placed the travel mug under the spout and popped in the Kahlua flavored K-Cup that Felicity loved so much and stepped to look out of the massive floor to ceiling windows in the living room. The sun was beginning to hang low on the horizon, and he took a moment to appreciate the view, eyes falling to the waterfront at the edge of the Glades before the city moved towards its more prestigious neighborhoods. It was the site of both the new lair, and their new company.

Felicity's digital art following their return from Lian Yu, had left nothing to doubt, that Isabel's targeting of his company and family's assets was born from the criminal motivations of a terrorist. It was easy to sell, mostly due to it being so close to the truth. Once he had his family's assets back, negotiating with the Board of Directors had been the next challenge. Some were truly horrified at what their capitulance to Isabel had lead the company's resources to. And the rest were more concerned with instilling true stability and investor confidence again. In the end, while the Queen family retained the majority share, Oliver agreed to permanently step down as CEO. Instead, James Crew, a longtime company executive took the helm as chief executive officer, and Oliver turned his focus to developing his own corner of the company where he was less likely to make investors nervous. It was a win/win in the end, Crew was a good man, and the company had begun to flourish again.

And Oliver was more than happy to have Q-Core to devote to his own interests without with the entire weight of Queen Consolidated on his shoulders.

He heard the shower turn off, and the subsequent tornado that was Felicity in a hurry. Returning to the kitchen, he added a healthy portion of sugar to the travel cup and a splash of milk before securing the lid tightly. It was strange, she had only moved in a few weeks ago, but it felt both brand new, and like they lived together for years at the same time.

Hearing her heels on the tile as she approached, he moved towards the door and entered the code to disable the perimeter alarm. Hair still dripping wet, she was a hysterical combo of jeans, one of his button down casual shirts, and a pair of dangerously high dark green heels. A black garment bag was slung over her forearm.

Taking the coffee with a genuine thankful sound, she took a sip and checked her phone, the prototype of the next generation of Q-Core's phones, before jamming it in her back pocket.

"Ok Naomi just messaged me, everything is a go for the gala tonight, all we need to do is to be there on time for the receiving line and press junket. Roy is all set to run patrol's tonight, so you are officially off duty. Lyla just dropped Andrew off with Grandma Diggle, and is already at the salon….how is the lady with the infant more on time than me?"

"Years of military training?" He offered. She sighed, but here eyes held an excited sparkle.

"Tonight is going to be fun." She rose up slightly on her toes, assisted by those heels and placed a quick kiss on his mouth. Before she could pull away, his hands slipped into her wet hair, pulling her closer and deepening the kiss for a moment longer. He's smiled against her mouth as she made that humming sound she did whenever their kiss ended before she really wanted it too. She returned the smile. "Love you too. I'll see you in three hours…" She grabbed her keys and ducked out of the door when he opened it. Looking back over her shoulder as she stepped into the elevator, she gave him a mischievous grin. "For once, I'll be the one in green tonight."

 _To be continued..._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Party Crasher

* * *

Felicity watched the gathering below with a smile, happy with how well everything was going. The formalities and press schmoozing part completed without a hitch, the evening proceeded smoothly into a good old fashioned party, everyone seeming to be having a great time. Standing along the open balcony of the massive converted pier maintenance dock that was now the office for Q-Core, she looked down to boardwalk filled with partygoers, mostly employees and their families, press and the other businesses along the waterfront. She was just about grab another drink and go find Oliver when she felt someone approach.

"You are quite a lucky gal." Came a smooth, deep woman's voice from behind her, the tone slightly off putting. Confused by the odd opener from a complete stranger, she turned on her heel to find herself facing one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen. She pursed her lips and looked closer, realizing that it wasn't so much that her features were unusually stunning, it was just that everything about her was…perfectly arranged. From her make-up, to deep red hair, and figure hugging chocolate gown. It was unsettling actually. Felicity bit her lip.

"Um, yes? And you are….?" She offered hesitantly, before holding out a hand and forcing a smile on her face. Tonight everyone needed to be on their best behavior. The woman returned the smile, but ignored the offered hand. For the best probably, as the smile looked more like a grimace than anything else. The woman moved towards the railing leaning over slightly, eyes scanning the crowd.

"Carrie Cutter, Starling City Gazette." She replied with a tone of pride, returning her gaze to Felicity. It took a moment for the name to register in her mind, before it settled on a memory that only served to deepen Felicity's dislike of the woman before her.

"Oh yes, of course. You write the celebrity gossip column. You've authored quite a few…facilitating articles about Oliver…and me. How great to finally put a face to that wonderful collection of fiction." She straightened, crossing her arms. Carrie's perfect smile faltered for a fraction of a second before it returned to spread across her face.

"I must say Miss Smoak, I never could quite figure out how you were able to so throughly ensnare the city's most eligible bachelor. You have put a quite a damper on Mr. Queen's news buzz. Its such a shame…to see him relegated to some little business side project, with his other boring little blond side project..its a shame really. Used to be, you could always count on him for a good story. Lately though…" She feigned a yawn and leaned back against the railing before giving Felicity the most blatant once over she had received in a long time. Trying not to feel like she was back in high school again, Felicity took a deep breath and schooled her features. This would almost be funny if it were not for the cold look in the woman's eyes, making Felicity want to get away from her as fast as possible.

"Yes, well, lucky for me Miss Cutter, your job at the city's least respected media outlet in no way requires me to take your opinion. But please, enjoy the party." She offered her the warmest smile she could manage and saluted her with her empty wine glass. Turning her back on her quickly, Felicity tried not to memorize the murderous look on the woman's face. The more distance she could put between her and the crazy, the better.

Snagging a fresh glass of champagne from a tray as the waiter went by, she downed it quickly. Feeling the bubbles dancing down her her stomach, the warmth helping chase away the chill left by Carrie's strangeness. She felt the last of her discomfort melt when she same alongside Lyla and Diggle, who had just left the dance floor. There was something about John's presence that always helped restore her confidence. She must have not shaken all of her irritation, as he frowned slightly when he saw her.

"You ok?" He asked, sinking with a relaxed huff into a chair, pulling Lyla down to sit on his leg. Felicity smiled, loving the way his eyes crinkled when he started to get a bit drunk. She loved seeing both her boys happy. She took a deep breath, a genuine smile finding its way back on to her face.

"Yeah, its nothing. Just had a run-in with the tumblr queen of #whyFelicitySmoak." She laughed at his confused expression. Lyla just rolled her eyes and kissed him on the temple.

"Johnny-babe, remind me to give you an updated brief on social media." She gave Felicity a wink. "Looking for the man of the hour?"

Felicity nodded, scanning the crowd.

"He's over by the entrance, people are starting to filter out and he's doing the host thing." Felicity thanked her and started her way down the promenade to locate him. When she finally caught sight of him, she saw that he had been pulled slightly aside, and was in a private side-conversation with someone she didn't quite recognize.

Because she would have remembered meeting a human being that large.

Easily a foot taller than Oliver and twice as broad, his skin was was dark, a contrast to his manicured silver-grey dreadlocks . Dressed sharply, his stance seemed relaxed, but she could tell from Oliver's that the conversation was not to his liking. Even through she couldn't see his face, she could see that he was clenching his fists the way he always did when he was upset, but didn't have his bow handy. She approached slowly, unsure of what was going on. Placing her hand on his lower back, she pressed her fingers slowly into his tux.

I'm here.

He continued speaking as if she had not touched him, but Oliver responded immediately, his movement was subtle. He took a half-step to the side, placing more of his body between her and the man he was speaking to.

Threat.

She stepped closer into his guard and slid one arm around him, in what would look like an affectionate gesture, peeking her chin over his shoulder. She plastered a goofy grin across her face, and stumbled slightly on purpose. With the other hand, she reached into the back of his belt, slowly withdrawing the knife there. He reached back around to steady her, and she slid the knife into the sleeve of his tux, where he held it in place with his thumb.

"There you are sweetie!" She announced cheerfully, slurring her words slightly, leaning into his grip. She bounced up and down slightly, leveling her gaze upward to the harsh features of the man in front of Oliver. "Wow. You're like…super tall."

The man's expression changed to one that seemed honestly amused. His gaze moving over her briefly before returning to Oliver.

"I can see you've got your hands full of lovely lady. So I'll just see myself out. Have a wonderful evening Mr. Queen." He tipped the brim of an imaginary hat at Felicity and turned, walking off into the night.

Oliver let out a long slow breath, his body uncoiling. He released the knife into his hand and placing it back into its sheath. Wrapping his arm around her tightly, he pressed a quick kiss to her forehead. "Thanks for the save."

"What was that all about?" She asked, voice again steady as she looked in the direction the man had left.

"That was a neighborhood "businessman", we apparently failed to invite."

"Criminal?" She inquired. He nodded, turning them back to the party.

"Criminal." He affirmed. "He just wanted to welcome me to the neighborhood." He winked and gave her waist a squeeze. "Don't give me that look. As threats go, it was pretty benign, and I've had my fair share. I'm not going to think about it anymore tonight, so come on, we have a party to shut down." He pulled her a bit tighter against him, fingers splaying low on her belly, stirring warmth there. A promise for that payback he owed her. "And I'm not going to let this dress go to waste."

She was glad the cooling night air helped to hide her blush as she rolled her eyes and hooked her thumb in the back of his tux pants. She wanted to worry, but his mood was infectious, and when it came to threats she trusted his instincts.

As they made their way back, a pair of eyes watched them from a darkened edge of the pier. Memorizing each touch of easy affection between them, a sound of fury almost unrecognizable as human hummed in its chest as it melted back into the night.

To be continued...


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Waking Nightmare

* * *

Breath quickening in his lungs, Oliver pushed his run even faster, trying to keep the sprinting criminal his in his view. While not the sharpest tool in the shed, the guy could run, he would give him that much. Just as he had begun to close the distance between them two of the guy's buddies who had been making their way back to the gang's hideout had the great misfortune of getting in Oliver's way. Switching the grip on his bow he used it like a club across the face of one man, planting a fast moving elbow into the ear of the other. Both went down quickly, but he could no longer see the man he had been chasing. Pressing his comm's device on his chest, Felicity's voice responded before he even had to ask.

"Two blocks over on Wittamore street, moving east towards the old metalworking district…" He took off running in the direction she had provided, hearing her fingers flying across the keyboard.

"Pulling up the CCTV…wait…he's stopped. I can't quite make it out but it looks like there is someone else…"

The sound of two large caliber gunshots drew him to a halt.

"Oliver what…"

"I'm fine…give me a sec." He had disarmed him, so someone else had changed the game. Moving with caution he jogged closer to the ally, pressing his back against the adjacent wall. Looking quickly from his position of cover, he was not expecting the sight that greeted him. The alleyway was empty except for the body of the guy he had just chased for several blocks.

There was no question what had killed him, the man didn't have a face anymore. But that was not what drew Oliver's attention.

It was the arrow was sticking out of the man's chest.

It was handmade. The entire shaft was composed of whittled softwood with fletching out of ornamental feather, clearly never intended to be anything other than decorative. Looking closer, there was a leather string attached to the knock, with a note at the end.

Letting out a slow breath he bent over to snatch the note, unfolding it. The words he found there were written in fine calligraphy.

"A gift for you, my love." ~~Cupid

With a growl he crushed the note in his hands.

"Oliver what is going o….."

"Call Detective Lance. I need to report a murder."

* * *

Felicity had always known that Oliver really didn't have much in the tank when it came to the patience department. Which would be alright, except for the part where he was really really cranky when he couldn't solve a problem. Particularly one that was generating a body count in his name.

Again, his temper was something that she had become accustomed to over the years.

She was not going to tolerate however her boyfriend yelling at her as if she were some noob.

"I'm telling you right now Oliver, there is nothing to trace! This is not magical pixelland. I can't just spontaneously generate a digital image of your special psychokiller lady friend so you can chase her around in the middle of the night!" She shouted back, squaring her feet as jammed her finger at her monitor where the blurred image of a cloaked female shape filled the screen.

"Lady friend?! This has nothing to do….Cupid has killed four people in the last three weeks…"

Diggle exhaled and took a long draw from his coffee. He gave it about one more minute before he figured he would need to intervene.

"Mom and Dad fighting again?"

Digg choked. Roy entered the room from the showers and pounded the veteran on the back twice as they watched the quarreling pair for a moment . He took a deep breath.

"I'm going in." Roy announced.

Digg gave him a lazy salute. "You are a braver soul than I."

Roy took a few steps towards the duo, and cleared his throat.

No effect.

"Guys!"

Silence and two synchronized sets of glaring blue eyes focused on him. Roy swallowed.

"When I tousled with twisted sister earlier, I snagged this." He held up a clear plastic bag with a clump of red hair nested inside. "Figured we could try and use it to ID her."

Oliver sighed, a ghost of a smile crossing his face. Felicity stepped up to Roy with a broad grin and took he bag from his hands.

"Oh look. Someone found actual evidence for me." She turned to give Oliver the hairy eyeball. "How novel."

Oliver's smile disappeared and he turned to leave. "I'm going to get cleaned up."

Felicity took a deep breath, trying to calm down.

I'll prep a sample and send it to our lab and have a duplicate sent to the SCPD so they can start building a case against this wackadoodle….

The phone rang. Felicity set the bag down on the steel table and looked at the caller ID. "Wow, his ears must have been burning." She clicked answer, and put the phone to her ear.

"Detective Lance, I was just talking about…"

"Felicity." The usually gruff detective's voice was unusually full of emotion. Felicity frowned.

"Are you ok?" She asked, worry beginning to pool in her stomach. There was a long deep breath on the other end.

"Yeah…I'm…just glad to hear your voice." Felicity bit her lip, as Oliver moved to stand next to her, having come back at the tone of her voice.

"Um..thanks? Is there something I can do for you?" Oliver mouthed Laurel? and Felicity shook her head, resting her hand on his chest.

"I need you to be somewhere safe, and for our mutual friend to me at 14th and Kenston St." His tone was frightening how serious he was. She nodded.

"Ok. I'll call him, and head back to my place, Oliver and I were going to have movie night in anyway. Be safe detective." The line went dead.

* * *

The crime scene was easy enough to find, as several police cars and a medical examiner's van had already arrived on the scene by the time Oliver arrived. He kept to the shadows unitl he spotted Detective Lance, who had strategically placed himself away from the line of sight of the press photographers who had already gathered at the scene. Ever since Slade, the relationship between the Arrow and the SCPD had become a complicated, but significantly less hostile one. Publicly, and among the top brass, they were still vocally opposed to the activities of the Arrow. But privately, the officers, particularly from Lance's precinct, knew what he had done to stop Slade and his men that night. So when a case came up that needed a little extra expertise, they helped where they could, and kept quiet about it.

Seeing he had arrived, he asked the other officers to give them some space. Once they were gone, Oliver emerging from the shadows. Quentin immediately stepped between him and the sheet covered corpse, blood already seeping through the thick material. For someone who had seen his fare share of corpses, the Detective looked oddly shaken.

"What is it detective? Another Cupid killing?" Oliver asked, already knowing the answer. Quentin nodded, but held out his hand to stop the archer as he went to examine the body.

"Wait." He took a knee next to the corpse, putting his hand on the edge of the white sheeting. "There is no arrow with this one…but I know it belongs to Cupid." He wiped his brow with the back of his ungloved wrist, exhaling a long breath. "This obsession of hers with you….she's escalating. And I think…i think she has been watching you closer than you think." He grasped the edge and began to peel it back. He paused and looked up at the Arrow with eyes serious and apologetic at the same time. "Just remember…its not her."

When the sheet was removed, Lance's words left Oliver's mind in an instant, all oxygen in his body gone.

It was Felicity. Face beaten and broken, pristine glasses had been placed on her still face. Her throat slashed open as gore coated the front of a once cheery outfit.

He backpedaled until couldn't anymore, an unyielding wall keeping him from escaping the horrifying sight. The edges of his vision narrowing to only the sight of her filled his mind. Dead and cold…..

"No…"

Lance was in his face, speaking, but he couldn't…

"Oliver!" Came a harsh whisper. The shock of his name, unexpected suddenly flooded his lungs with air, and his vision cleared. "Its NOT her you know that. Her name is Kelly Higgs, she's 24 years old and is an intern at the Starling City Gazette. According to her license she doesn't wear glasses…this is not Felicity." He released Oliver's leathers with a small shove, hoping to have gotten through too him. A long moment passed with only deliberate forceful breaths being forced in and out of his lungs, he finally looked up.

"How long have you known?" Quentin snorted.

"Forever you moron. What kind of detective do you think I am? I just didn't WANT to know. Didn't want to have to ever say it out loud. But for a moment there I was pretty sure you were about to drop dead, so…" He trailed off and returned to the body. Steeling himself, Oliver stepped away from the wall to approach her, kneeling on the ground.

Now that he was prepared, he took the time to force himself to look closer. She and Felicity did share a remarkable resemblance. But her eyebrows her were fairer, and her hair a lighter shade of natural blond. A familiar nose that was too broad at the base, and lips covered with a bright shade of pink were thinner than the ones he knew. He gently pulled several strands of hair stuck to the blood on her neck off of her face, tucking it behind her ear.

"What...is this?" He asked, pulling the sheet back over the woman's face. Squeezing his eyes shut, he couldn't to wipe the image below the sheet from his mind.

"Unplanned." Was the detective's unexpected reply. "Every other person this woman has killed has been carefully planned. Someone she knew you were after. She is unnaturally strong, able to physically overpower the other two perps she killed. Each one planted calling card. This…wasn't about impressing you. This was something else. This was rage." He looked up at Oliver, his eyes once again worried. "Has Felicity been out in the field around you lately?"

Oliver was about to respond in the negative, when he recalled earlier this week, when she had been in the van for a more complicated team op. When he had opened the doors rear doors, covered in industrial soap...they had laughed as she tossed him a towel, and he'd pulled her out of the van to share the soapy mess for mocking him…he clenched his fists...so careless.

"You need to get that gal a mask of her own." The detective commented, taking the Oliver's silence for an affirmative. Oliver stood and reached into a small compartment in his side pouch, withdrawing the plastic bag with hair in it.

"We got this out of her earlier tonight. See if it matches anything in your holdings." Quentin took the bag and examined it in the alley light. When he turned to say one more thing, he found that he was already alone.

* * *

Felicity had just finished changing into her PJ's and poured tea when she heard codepad beep and Oliver's key in the door. Earlier tension forgotten, she smiled and leaned back to get a view of the hallway as he came in.

"Welcome home! Is Detective Lance ok? He seemed pretty shaken up on the ph…" She got one look at Oliver's face and abanonded her tea, moving quickly to stand in front of him. Before she could say anything, his arms crushed her against him, lifting her several inches off the floor. He buried his face in her neck and deeply inhaled her scent. Felicity could feel the barely perceivable tremble in his muscles as if he was physically trying to hold himself back from something. After a moment he set her down and she leaned back a bit, interlacing her fingers behind his head.

"Hey. Talk to me. What's wrong?"

He released her from his death grip, hands sinking to the small of her back. When he lifted his his head to face her, the look in his eyes haunted her. She moved her hands to the side of his face, taking a moment to just look at him. Even though they had not been together long, times like this it was through the silent language of touch that they could understand eachother best. Tilting her head to the side, she moved her hands to cup his cheeks, thumb tracing the underside of a cheekbone.

What do you need?

He tilted his head to to the side, leaning into her touch with a shuttered breath. With one arm wrapping more firmly around her waist the other moved into her hair, cradling the back of her skull. His lips ghosted against hers once. Twice. Eyes holding hers steady the whole time.

You.

She reached behind her to take his hand at her waist, enclosing it in her own smaller one and tugging him away from the door. As they reached their room, Oliver turned her in his arms, pressing her back to his chest. With deliberate care he pulled back the curtain of her loose hair and bent to place a row of kisses from behind her ear down to her shoulder. Turning her head away to give him more access, she reached up with her other hand behind his head to steady herself.

Oliver's hand moving to the underside of her other arm, he pressed it gently up to join the other behind his head forcing her to arch her back against him. He slowly peeled her black tank top up and over her head, one hand moving to her belly. A calloused thumb moved slow circles along her ribs, a maddening edge between ticklish and sensuous. The other hand traced down her arm to the underside of her breast, thumb teasing a sensitive nipple to a peak.

Breath quickening under his ministrations, she felt his body begin to uncoil. His face relaxed and a ghost of a smile crept onto his lips as he leaned against her arm, closing his eyes to just listen to the quiet sounds of pleasure she was making. Tilting her head back, she watched him, reveling in the pleasure he took from pleasing her. Holding her so tight it was almost painful, he sunk his face into the fall of her hair as his other hand slipped beneath the waistband of her silk pyjama pants. Skilled fingers slipping between her folds, his palm pressed against her clit, as a finger slipped inside of her.

Felicity's eyes pressed shut, a low moan slipping from her unbidden. It was both too much and not enough as he continued to run a finger in slow circles just inside of her entrance, pulling increasingly desperate sounds from her mouth. It was almost a blessing when he relaxed his grip enough for her to turn in his arms, forcing his hand away. Slipping her hands inside of his jacket she pushed it off his shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. His shirt joined it soon, and she rested her cheek against his chest, taking a moment to listen to the pounding of his heart.

Oliver wrapped his arms around her, feeling the rise of goosebumbs along her shoulders in the cool air of the apartment. Revling in the feel of her skin against his, he tried to shove away every memory of what he had seen in that ally. Trying to unsee his greatest nightmare, proving that she was safe in is arms. And so very alive.

Reaching up to take a fist full of her hair, he gently tugged her head back, leaning down to claim her mouth with his.

Tomorrow, he knew he would have to tell her.

But tomorrow was hours away.

To be continued.


	4. Chapter 4

Note: I wrote this story before little Sarah was cannon! :)

Chapter Four

* * *

John was generally an early riser, a quality he seemed to share with his son. With Andrew fed, burped, and changed, John took advantage of a rare quiet moment to just enjoy the pleasant weight of his son on his chest as the little man started to drift off again. Absently patting a diapered butt to the rhythm of the jazz his playing from his phone, he heard the sound of a coffee mug sliding onto the side table next to him.

Looking up, Lyla smiled and slid down onto the couch next to them, her own mug nestled in her hands. At his questioning look, she smiled.

"Its early enough that its too late to go back to sleep. You're Mom will be here in an hour or so. Besides, with everything that has been going on, we haven't seen a lot of you lately." She took a sip of her coffee. He made a unintelligible grunt and reached for his own mug, sitting up slightly to take a careful sip around the now sleeping nugget.

"Cupid is really getting to both of them. Felicity especially. That poor girl that was killed….Felicity can't get her out of her head. I caught her the next day…she had hacked into the police report to see the crime scene to see the photos for herself…I don't think she or Oliver are really sleeping much anymore." Lyla nodded with a frown, absentmindedly leaning in to take a test sniff of Andrew's butt for any biological nightmares. He generally waited for a fresh canvas before he created a new masterpiece.

"Whoever this Cupid is, she has managed to stay out of every from of trouble with any form of law enforcement agency up until this point. We had no genetic match against any database ARGUS can access based on that hair sample." She closed her sleep deprived eyes for a moment before opening them quickly, remembering something. "Oh! The only thing we can say for certain is that she was in Central City when that collider went off about 18 months ago. There were trace isotopes in sample that have only been found in people who were exposed to the immediate fallout from that explosion." She laid down against the armrest on the other side of the couch, resting her mug on her chest.

"That could explain how she's so strong. Remind me to give Barry a rash of crap for letting one of those metahumans out of his jurisdiction." He looked over at the clock in the kitchen. "I should get going, I have some actual work I need to get done before they get into the office." Lyla nodded, reaching behind her to set her mostly empty mug down. She held out her arms.

"Baby me." She scrunched her fingers in the air. Dig smiled and sat up and carefully, laying Andrew down on his mother's chest. The infant squirmed for a moment before settling into the familiar surface, scrunching his knees up to his chest.

"Do you think you'll be home on time, or do you need me to come home first?" He asked, pushing himself off the couch slowly. Lyla shook her head slightly, tucking the short coarse curls of their son under her chin.

"I should be fine, thats the one good thing about riding a desk as punishment for holding a gun to your boss in the office. Reliable work hours."

Dig shook his head and smiled smiled, leaning over for a quick kiss before he moved to get cleaned up.

* * *

Oliver finally made it into the office several hours later, never one for early workdays with the late nights he kept. He and Felicity often came in at different times, but ever since Cupid made her intentions about Felicity clear, Oliver never seemed to be far from her outside of their home, office, or the lair. Normally she might have chaffed at such close monitoring, but the death of the young reporter had shaken both of them badly.

But even with the pursuit of the psychopath being Team Arrow's top priority, they had all made a promise to each other that they wouldn't abandon their personal lives or Q-Core, no matter how difficult their evening activities had become. Forgetting about the details of the real world was one of the main reasons Slade had been able to undue them so thoroughly.

As the pair entered the main open atrium of the two story wood and glass interior office, Digg took a moment to observe them from the second floor balcony. Despite a tiredness that perhaps only he could see, they seemed fine, each interacting easily with employees that had questions or paperwork for them the moment they walked into the door. John smiled, Cupid aside, they were doing great.

Quigley, the poodle/lab/something mix that had been living in the abandoned building before it was converted to their offices and new lair, had officially been adopted by the employees. Particularly attached to Felicity, he seemed to sense Felicity's hidden mood, and moved to heel at her side, following the pair back to Oliver's office.

By the time Digg made his way to join him, Felicity was sitting on the couch in Oliver's office with her tablet resting on one knee, and Quigley's chin on the other. Absently scratching the dogs blonde head while she combed through her emails, she looked up to smile at his entrance.

"Hey."

"Hey yourself." He gave the dog a pat on the side as he moved to sit on the edge of the couch. "I finished running the background checks for the next round of new hires. Everyone checked out, so I'll have Naomi type of the employment offers for them and send them over for you to sign this afternoon."

Oliver finished the bite of greek yoghurt and muesli he had been chewing and nodded. "Thanks Digg." He looked over at Felicity. "What do we have on tap today?"

She moved her hand from Quigley's head to issue a few commands on the tablet.

"You have a pretty full docket actually. Mostly PR stuff though, the tablets that we provided to the Glades Elementary schools have really helped out and you're scheduled to do classroom walkthroughs with a WIRED magazine guy, a photographer, and Sin of course." She smiled. That project had actually been Sin's idea, and she was really proud of how the younger woman was taking ownership and stepping into her first real job as a community outreach consultant. She scrolled to the evening section of the calendar…and made a face. "Ugh. That Starling Gazette piece on rich people apartments is tonight. We are supposed to have the pre-interview at our place tonight before the photo session in the morning." Oliver laughed, he was long used to the press being a part of his public persona, but it was an aspect of being with him that Felicity may never grow accustomed to. Having been a private citizen most of her life, the endless press interest in her public relationship with Starling's former prize bachelor was easily her least favorite thing.

"People are fascinated by us Felicity. Its a fluff piece, assuming of course that your Doctor Who collectables display does not completely ruin whatever credibility I had as someone cool." Felicity made a face at him.

"Geek IS cool now frat boy." She sighed. "I know you were planning on going on patrol before the interview, but I am telling you right now, if you are late and leave me alone with reporters in our house, I shall not forgive you. They will be at our place at 8:30, you will be there by 8:00."

Oliver held up his hands in mock surrender.

"Uh huh." Digg commented, knowing that Oliver's lateness was inevitable. He handed Felicity the file that Lyla had given him. "I'll do the school rounds with Oliver, you may want to head downstairs and get cracking on this for a bit. We might have a lead you can magic something useful out of."

"Nothing concrete, but the ARGUS brain trust has worked out that whoever this Cupid is, she has a high enough concentration of some isotope in the hair sample we sent over. It confirms that she was living in Central City for the initial blast from that collider, and was there for several weeks afterword."

Felicity sat quietly for a moment, that brain of hers whirling quietly. "Let me see if I can work up an algorithm to see if I can cross-reference women who fit the known parameters for Cupid with recent arrivals to Starling…see if I can narrow it down a little at least…." She patted Quigley on the haunches a couple of times. "Up up." She moved to the hidden panel behind Oliver's desk, while he tapped the code into the pad under his desk to open the heavy steel door. On her way by she pressed a quick kiss to his mouth. "You boys be good, I'll see you tonight." She had just disappeared around the corner before she peeked back in. "And yes I'll get one of Dig's guys to drive me home, just in case."

* * *

Killing the engine on his motorcycle, he winced as he read the digital time readout on the dash.

 _8:17_

Felicity was going to kill him.

In his defense, a standoff with Daniel Brickman had not been on his docket for the evening. Feeling the ache in his back from the unexpected tussle with the walking bunch of steel cables that was Brickman, it was safe to say that if the encounter had been anything other than a warning, things could have ended up quite differently. Turns out the local crime boss was rather irritated that so many of his guys were ending up on the wrong end of Cupid and wanted to deliver the message that it needed to stop. Soon. Thankfully the police had taken that particular moment to arrive, temporarily ending the discussion. He hoped the info ARGUS had dug up was enough to give them a new lead. They needed to stop Cupid and focus on Brickman.

Showering quickly, he jogged over to Felicity's station where he had left his phone, where there was a message blinking at him. Hearing a quiet bell dinging behind a monitor in screensaver mood, one of felicity's automated notification alarms, he jiggled the mouse to wake up the computer. Changing focus to the message on his phone, he was not surprised to see that it was from Felicity.

A rather _irritated_ Felicity.

"Oliver. Seriously, where ARE you. Its bad enough that you are ok with letting reporters into our house, but I just got a call that the reporter is bringing along a colleague from the society section…that evil woman from the gossip column I can't stand is coming now. Carrie Cutter? You remember her, the one that picks the most unflattering photos of me for her segments? If you don't get your butt over here in the next ten minutes so help me, I'm gonna….crap thats the doorbell. You are so dead Queen."

Stuffing his phone in his back pocket with a smile, he checked the monitor quickly.

Search complete. 18 Results Pending Review.

So few? What he hell parameters had she managed to come up with?

He could be another few minutes late for this….

He double clicked the notification tab. And a page of bio thumbnails appeared, some with DMV photos. He scanned them quickly.

 _Claire Masterson_

 _Mikah O'Riley_

 _Susan Jayne_

 _Katie Wiggins_

 _Carole Fryers_

 _Alison Harris_

 _Carrie Cutter_

 _Victori….._

 _Carrie Cutter_

Oliver's heart stopped.

To be Continued...


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

* * *

Felicity ended the message with small growl of frustration. Oliver knew how much press stuff made her uncomfortable, she was terrible at managing these things with anything approaching his degree of charm and grace. She always got the feeling that these people were just waiting for her to turn into some sort of crazy charity case, or money grubbing psycho. She and Oliver didn't make any sense in the traditional sense, and people just couldn't seem to let it go. Eventually the novelty would wear of, she knew that. Objectively, she knew that. Emotionally…this crap made her feel like she was back in high school.

She took a deep breath and stared at the door. She checked her outfit, black leggings, her comfortable black boots, and a soft blue off-shoulder tunic. What she deemed 'fashionable home lounge wear' when she would rather been in boy shorts and an old t-shirt. Hair, check. Make-up, check. Off to battle.

Taking a deep breath and plastering a smile on her face, she unlocked the door.

Standing in the hallway was an older woman with a kind smile, smartly dressed with a large over the shoulder bag. She had the softly entrenched winkles and warm skin tone a woman who has done a lot of good living. Despite herself, Felicity found her false smile warming to a real one as she extended her hand to take the offered one.

"Its such a pleasure to meet you Miss Smoak. I'm Margaret Kinsey, and this is my colleague Carrie Cutter front the Gazette. Thank you so much for taking the time this evening to see us."

"Oh of course, we're happy to contribute to a project that can shed some good light on Starling's real estate." Internally she braced herself. "Carrie, its good to see you again."

Margaret, surprised looked back at the woman behind her.

"I didn't realize you two had met before…"

Carrie smiled, the expression seemed oddly genuine. Felicity couldn't decide if those found that more or less unnerving, given their first interaction at the gala.

"Oh yes, but we both were not at our best." She extended her hand, which Felicity took with slight hesitation. Her hand was ice cold, but her grip neutral.

Releasing Carrie's hand Felicity showed them inside.

"So, I do have to apologize up front. Oliver has been caught up with a previous engagement and isn't home at the moment. I'm certain he will be here soon though, but in the meantime, I hope you're ok with just me to get started."

Margaret waved off her concern with a warm smile as she set her bag down on the couch, reaching for pen and note pad. And expression crossed Carrie's face that Felicity couldn't quite place.

"Well, its pretty much common knowledge that Oliver Queen is terrible at being on time. I'm not worried. Besides, I would never miss a rare chance to be able to have one on one time with the woman who has managed to domesticate the notorious Oliver Queen?" She said kindly with a conspiratorial wink. Felicity shook her head with a smile."

"I'm certain you will be disappointed when you discover that there is nothing scandalous about Oliver and I. Before we get started on the grand tour, can I offer you something to drink?"

"Just some water if you don't mind." Carrie requested, with Margaret requesting the same. Leading them to the kitchen, the trio engaged surprisingly easy conversation as they discussed Q-Core, and the decision to move out of the Queen Mansion. Moving into the living room of the penthouse, Margaret and Carrie took immediately to the massive floor to ceiling windows. She knew how stunning the view was, the entire city was laid out before you, but Felicity seldom got close enough to the edge to look down. Standing a few feet back, she looked down the side table where she had left her phone to see that she had a missed call from Oliver.

Good. He must be on his way now.

She taped the screen to acknowledge the message, and tucked the phone into the waistband of her leggings under her tunic.

"We can check out the library next. Honestly that is my favorite room." Leading them back past the entry way and to the other wing of the penthouse. Just as she entered the library, she could feel her phone vibrating again. She smiled as she started to relay the tale of how the library was the result of her winning a bet with Oliver. Man, he knows he is in the doghouse…

* * *

Oliver ground his jaw even harder inside his hemet as Felicity's phone continued ring, as he downshifted to get the extra speed he needed to blow through a light before it turned red. Pickuppickuppickup…. After the first unanswered call, he had called Digg, but he knew that his apartment was even farther away from theirs than the lair. He willed the bike to go even faster as he dialed her again.

* * *

When the phone rang for the third time, Felicity paused mid-sentence. Something must be wrong for him to keep calling her like this.

"Hey, I'm really sorry, I need to take this, just give me a sec?" She fished the phone out of her back waistband, and half stepped into the hallway. She clicked answer.

"Oliver..wha"

"Get out of there right now." Oliver's voice was tight and low, and she knew immediately he was completely serious. Her whole body tensed as she took a glance back to the two reporters, seeing Carrie move to stand behind Margaret, peering over her shoulder at a book the older woman was examining.

"Ok, we have guests at the moment..let me jus.."

"Your diagnostic completed….Carrie was in the results Felicity. That reporter that was killed…she worked at the Gazetter too…its her….she's Cupid. I'm almost there, don't let her know that you know, just get out."

"K." Was her simple reply as she forced herself to inhale. Oxygen. She needed oxygen. She left the line open and locked the screen. Hand trembling slightly, she tucked it back into her waistband. Just keep breathing Felicity. She, tried her best to school her features despite her heart hammering in her chest. Breathe.

But when she leveled her gaze back on the pair, she found that Carrie, who's features had been relaxed, almost pleasant the entire interview, had changed completely. Her face drawn tight, eyes narrowing significantly, seeming to bore into Felicity. Margaret, who had her back to Carrie was oblivious to the subtle shift in the room and smiled.

"So, is Mr. Queen going to make an appearance after all?" She asked with a good natured tone, closing the book and placing it back on the shelf. Felicity's smile widened to a more natural one as she realized it wasn't just her life that was in danger. Margaret had nothing to do with this. Felicity's mind whirled, trying to think of a way to get them both out without alarming Cupid, or at least giving them enough time to put some space between them.

"He is actually, he's just a few minutes away actually." She swallowed and took a step closer to them. If she could just get a hand on Margaret. She gripped the edge of her tunic with one hand, to try and dispel the excess movement caused by the adrenaline already coursing through her veins. "If you don't mind, we can head back to the living room and wait for him to finish the tour?" She gestured towards the hallway, willing her body to move smoothly.

"Certainly, we'll just pretend that we didn't get started without him." Margaret agreed and took a single step in Felicity's direction when she saw Cupid's eyes narrow and focus on something just past Felicity. The Hacker turned her head to follow her gaze into the hallway, and saw that the woman's gaze was focused on. It was her own outstretched hand.

Her badly shaking outstretched hand.

When Cupid spoke, Felicity knew that there was no going back.

"How about we all stop pretending then?"

With one swift movement Cupid's hand came up to grasp the side of Margaret's head, and with a quick flick of her arm, smashed the older woman's head against the solid wood bookshelf. With a sickening crunch, Margaret slid to the floor in a boneless heap.

Felicity ran.

If she could get to the door…the stairs were across the hall…another floor..other people…

She made it as far as the living room before her head was wrenched back by her hair, an powerful arm coming to wrap up around her throat, cutting off her scream.

Held in a vice against the taller woman, Felicity gagged as she tried to draw breath beneath the crushing strength of Cupid's forearm. Her breath hot in her ear, Cupid laughed as she dug her nails into Felicity's skull.

"That was him wasn't it? My Arrow? Hmmmmm…You know I hand't planned on doing anything to you tonight. I just wanted to take a chance to do some research on how to get in here for later…but this…." She squeezed tighter, the bone of her forearm crushing Felicity's windpipe, causing her to gag. "This was just too perfect. I'm going to kill you, and when he arrives…he will see that I am more worthy….I'm stronger, a fighter…." She leaned her head against Felicity's and hummed quietly as the edges of Felicity's vision began to darken. "You know, he saved my life once….my husband was beating the shit out of me in our little apartment in the Glades…out of nowhere, he just appeared…"

Suddenly the pressure was gone and Felicity crashed do the floor, half landing on a floor vase, shattering the glass to pieces. It took a moment before she could force air back into her lungs, drawing deep painful breaths.

"You disgust me. So weak." She reached down and drew a knife from her boot. "He could be so magnificent you know….destroy the monsters that stalk this city, not just turn them over to a weak system to store them away until they end up back on the streets." She crouched down. "And what to you do? You water him down…you keep him from being everything he truly could be." She tilted Felicity's head upwards with the flat of the blade. The steel was warm from having been so close to Cupid's body, its hardness focusing Felicity's attention. Digg's voice in her head.

In a knife fight, you are almost certainly going to get cut. Don't stress about that, just make sure its nothing important.

"All of that wasted potential….and for what? A weak little nerd."

Felicity felt her hand closing around one of glass shards she was laying on. Finding the dullest edge she could, she placed it in her palm. Pushing herself on one elbow, she pulled a leg up to get her boot flat on the ground. Ready.

Cupid turned the knife slowly so the edge began to cut into the underside of Felicity's chin.

With a scream Felicity wrenched her head back, trying to get as far away from the knife as she could, using her boot for purchase she pushed herself up, getting her head and chest away from her attacker, crab scrambling backwards. Before she could get enough space to stand up, Cupid filled her vision, but Felicity shifted her weight to her hands and twisted at the hip, lashing out with a boot and landing a solid strike on Cupid's kneecap. With a scream Cupid crumpled to the ground, giving Felicity the blessed seconds she needed to get back on her feet.

With Cupid blocking the doorway out, Felicity headed towards the next safest place she could think of. As she sprinted towards the bedroom she heard Cupid's howl of rage about a second before the wall came up to meet her face. With a scream Cupid, wrenched Felicity around to face her.

"Enough!"

On instinct Felicity crunched down, covering her core with her arms and elbows.

Cupid's blow seared through the outside edge of Felicity's arm, and buried itself into her side.

Felicity gasped at the tight twinge of pain blossoming low in her ribs as she tried to draw another breath. Looking down, she saw the black handle of the blade protruding from her side, just below her ribs.

With a yank and a growl, Cupid pulled the blade free. Felicity looked up in shock, seeing the rage on Cupid's face melt away to an oddly beatific expression. This made her happy. Her eyes…in that moment it was not a human who looked back at her, but something else entirely.

Somewhere, at the edge Felicity's hearing, the oddest thing….

Oliver was screaming. Screaming her name…but it sounded so far…

 _The phone. Oh God…he could hear…._

….no. No. She had to fight, she had to keep fighting…she clenched her hands trying to find some strength, when she felt a new sharp pain blossom in her hand.

The glass.

She didn't even think. Her arm swung upwards towards the taller woman, driving the shard home into the only piece of bare flesh she could see.

Felicity would never forget the moment the expression on Cupid's face changed. The moment a glass shard covered in Felicity's blood buried itself into the soft flesh of Cupid's cheek.

Not sparing a single moment more, Felicity staggered down the hallway to their room, hand clutching the slowly expanding stain at her side. Slamming the door shut and locking it behind her, she collapsed on the floor against her side of the bed. A pained sound escaped at the mere act of breathing, her whole left side was on fire. She could hear Cupid screaming, and pounding on the door, and Felicity was grateful for the solid oak.

Reaching under the bed, she pulled out the small gun safe she kept there, and punched in the code. And to think she had hesitated when Digg insisted she learn.

Oliver was still screaming.

"I'm…I'm still here. Please...hurry. "

Ignoring the blood that coated her left hand and arm, wiped her hand off on the carpet and she pulled out the gun. Grabbing the magazine, she slammed it home and pulled back the slide to chamber the first round. Taking a moment to try and gain control of her increasingly rapid and shallow breaths, she thumbed the safety off.

Cupid was kicking the door now. And the frame was starting to crack.

Searing pain shot through Felicity's side as she twisted herself upright to rest her elbows on the bed, aiming the weapon at the door. Focus.

The frame cracked, and the door splintered inward. The moment Cupid stepped into the room, Felicity squeezed the trigger.

To be continued...


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

* * *

The moment Oliver doors opened on the express elevator, he heard the gunshots. Two rounds in quick succession. He closed the distance between the elevator and the door in four strides, slamming the portal open, unexpected silence greeting him.

"Felicity!" He screamed as loudly as he could, not caring about giving away his presence to Cupid. The entryway and living room floors were littered with shattered glass. Stepping further inside he looked left. At the end of the long wide hallway was a woman's still form, the bright red fan of hair telling him immediately it was Cupid. From just beyond her came a faint voice he would recognize anywhere.

"Oli…Oliver..." The oxygen he had not realized he had been holding rushed into his lungs.

"Felicity! I'm here…" He called taking cautious steps towards Cupid's still form. Her eyes were closed; face was coated in blood with mangled skin from a massive serrated wound just below her cheekbone. Her grey shirt was similarly stained, with two rounds high in the chest. He spared a moment to check her pulse, and was surprised to find one, just barely, beneath his fingers.

Confirming she posed no immediate threat, he stepped over her and the splintered door. Once clear, he sprinted to Felicity's side, crashing hard to his knees.

Seeing him, a sob of relief and pain escaped Felicity as she set her weapon down. Breathing labored and ragged, she craned her neck towards Cupid.

"Is…" She coughed violently, and bloody sputum pooled at the corner of her mouth.

Oliver cursed viscously and placed a placed a quick kiss to her forehead before running to the bathroom and grabbing several towels and a jar of Vaseline. Returning to her side in an instant, he took a single second to compose himself.

"She's alive." He responded, his voice tight and irrationally furious that she was even thinking about that monster…but that was his Felicity. Taking in a breath and exhaling slowly to focus his anger, he could just barely hear sirens in the distance as he reached down to gently explore the edges of her wound. Grabbing the edges of the torn and bloody fabric, he ripped it apart to give him better access to the wound. "I'm sorry..but I need to take a look ok?" She nodded silently.

A quick examination revealed that the bleeding was sluggish, meaning she was not in any immediate danger of bleeding out, but the terrible wheezing almost certainly meant her lung was punctured likely on its way to collapse. He grabbed the jar of Vaseline and pulled out a large gob of it, layering it thickly over the wound. Quickly folding the washcloth he pressed it hard against her skin, fighting against his resistance to causing her pain with the need to provide proper first aid. It wasn't a proper occlusive dressing, but it would due until the paramedics arrived. After several shallow ragged breaths, the wheezing eased slightly, and she began to take slightly deeper more measured inhalations. Her right hand came to rest ontop of his, adding her own additional pressure, and he watched in the space of a few moments as a touch of color began to return to her terrifyingly grey complexion.

Letting go of his own held breath, his free hand moved to cup her face. "Better?" She nodded again. While it felt good to be able to breathe easier, her eyes felt so heavy. As the spike of adrenaline that had helped her fight Cupid began to wain with the knowledge she was under Oliver's protection, she suddenly felt so tired.

"The other reporter…library.." She looked past Cupid, down the hall. Oliver nodded, gently feeling around the back of her skull for other injuries.

"The paramedics will be here any second, they can help her. You are my priority, just stay with me ok?" She nodded slowly. She knew it was probably a bad sign that he was starting to sound like he was underwater, but her head was just pounding so badly, she just needed to close her eyes…just for a few minutes. She watched the grim set of his mouth change as he yelled something down the hall.

Digg? John was here…good.

As the world's edges began to darken, she could see Oliver's strained expression turn to panic as he started to say something to her.

Was he yelling?

She smiled, he was such a worrier…

Darkness.

* * *

The morning sun had begun to warm the chilled autumn streets of Starling City as Oliver paced across the waiting room for what was, by Roy's count, the 279th time. The large emergency room waiting area had one corner that was filled with their small core family. He, Dig and Oliver arrived there first. Followed quickly by Laurel and Quentin, and then Lyla with the baby. Roy couldn't help but think what a seemingly odd set of people they all were, but if there was anyone that could find their way into anyone's heart, it was Felicity Smoak.

And no one's heart more than Oliver Queen. Roy had seen Oliver in situations more dire and dangerous than Roy had ever believed possible and his mentor had always kept his cool. But looking at this particular moment, there was not a fiber of his being that had the slightest shred of calm. Oliver was the kind of guy who could only calm down by getting things done. But in this case…there wasn't anything left for him to do except wait.

And then suddenly, he didn't have to.

"Mr. Queen and Mr. Diggle?" Scrub-wearing doctor inquired calmly, looking up from a chart at the threshold of the waiting room. Oliver and Dig immediately presented themselves, perhaps faster than the doctor was expecting who took a half step back. His posture was relaxed and a small reassuring smile crossed his face when he saw the worried assemblage also rising in time with Oliver and John.

"How is she?" Oliver pressed, not unkindly.

"Surgery went well, I expect she will make a full recovery." The entire room seemed to lighten as the news was delivered. Oliver's shoulders sagged with relief as John reached over to give his friend's arm a hard squeeze. The doctor looked over and addressed the others. "Sorry to have to do this folks, but as Mr. Queen and Diggle are the only folks on her medical directive, I'm going to have to speak with them privately for a few minutes."

Quentin smiled and nodded, his arm around Laurel. "Of course Doc. I'm going to take this lot across the street for some proper coffee." The detective ushered the group out as the doctor escorted Oliver and John through the doors towards the recovery area.

"She is still in recovery right now, we will move her to her own room soon once she regains consciousness and we are certain she is stable. After what she experienced, it would be better if someone she trusted was there when she wakes up." He offered, his voice holding a reassuring timber. Oliver examined him out of the corner of his eye, finding him a fit middle-aged man with grey beginning to pepper through his dark hair. As a trauma surgeon in this city, this man had probably seen just about every form of horror that was possible. "The surgery went well, the first-aid I'm assuming you applied Mr. Queen was very well done and kept her lung from fully collapsing. We were able to repair the damage quickly." He paused and turned to face them, his face taking on a more grim expression.

"Considering I just saw a military squad with shadowy credentials cart away my other patient in manacles strong enough for a lion, I have to confess that it is amazing that Ms Smoak is not more seriously injured than she was. Her self-defense wounds are indicative of someone who put up one hell of a smart fight. A few inches more towards the centerline of her chest, and she would have bled out within minutes from that knife." He paused outside a set of medical bay doors. "Whoever taught her how to look out for herself saved her life tonight." Pushing open the doors, Oliver was drawn to bed in the farthest corner, his breath caught in his throat when she saw her.

The only thing keeping him together in that instant was the regular beep of her heart monitor, strong and even. She looked so small and fragile in that moment, hidden beneath wires and tubes and bandages. As he moved to stand by her right side he took her hand into his, finding it too dry and cold for his liking. John came to stand at her feet, his large hand resting ontop of the heavily blanketed toes.

Taking a moment to examine her vitals on the monitor, the doctor made a note on her chart. "Looks like they just extubated her, so she should wake up soon. I'm sure you understand, she is still on a morphine drip, so she will be pretty out of it when she wakes up." The smallest of smiles ghosted Oliver's face as he recalled the last time Felicity had been on medical grade narcotics. He gently rubbed her hand between his trying to warm it up. Without breaking his gaze on her still face he asked,

"What about her other injuries?"

The doctor nodded. "She sustained a small skull fracture on the right side of her head, but the MRI was clear for any severe underlying brain trauma, so we will just have to monitor her concussion. She has a deep laceration, a self-defense wound to her arm." He gestured to her heavily bandaged left forearm. "With as tough as tough a gal as she is, she's going to recover just fine." He adjusted the IV line in her left arm, before offering a small smile. "I have to start rounds, but I will come and check on her when they move her to her room." Excusing himself, he left the two men alone.

Oliver let out a shaking breath as soon as they were alone, leaning over to press a kiss to Felicity's forehead. John watched him carefully, knowing that the other man's emotions were barely contained underneath his skin. John couldn't help but remember Felicity's words to him once –He's so reactionary…whenever I get into trouble, or even a little hurt…I worry more that he is going to pull away from me again..

"She's going to be ok Oliver. I saw what she did to Cupid, she was completely outmatched and still came out on top." He offered, squeezing his friend's foot gently. Oliver nodded silently as he traced the edge of her split lip.

"Thank you. For teaching her how to shoot. I have been always been reluctant to train her, part me just wanted to think that she would never be in danger. But…even from the start you never shied from it."

John moved around to stand on Felicity's other side. "You and I have trained for very different things Oliver, it changes how you think about fighting. About what it means to need to learn to fight. A large part of my training is offensive of course, but there is another part of being a soldier. To protect others, to shield. That's why it made sense to get into the bodyguard industry when I got out. So for me, teaching her to fight…wasn't about something negative." Oliver nodded, considering his friend's words. There were a lot of things that were going to need to change. This couldn't happen again.

"You're right. Even when this started…she has always seen the best in me. It's as if she could see what I could be if I chose a better path. I was always afraid that teaching her what I knew...would somehow change her. So stupid... I'm not sure how I could do this without her. I almost lost her today John…."

His quiet admission was silenced by a surprisingly strong squeeze from the small hand he held. Felicity's voice was ragged and raw, but sober.

"Didn't though. Still here."

Whatever dark thoughts racing through Oliver's mind were chased away with the sound of her voice, his heart near bursting with relief. Bending over her bedside, he rested his forehead against hers. Weakly she tugged his hand up to rest on her heart, letting him feel it beneath her breast. John smiled.

"Thank God for that, there is no one on this planet who can talk this boy out of a stupid idea except you. Don't make me nervous like that again Felicity." He ordered with good humor, watching the tense set of Oliver's shoulders evaporate with every beat of her heart he could feel beneath his hand.

* * *

Felicity eased herself down into her chair in the lair, a massive grin spreading across her face. She patted one of the monitors with a fond expression.

"I'm back my lovelies, fear not."

"That's weird." Came Roy's voice from the other side of her desk as he watched her with some degree of concern. She had only been out of the hospital for a week, and despite her cheery disposition, it was very clear from her body language how badly she still was hurting. Felicity pouted and pulled herself slowly closer to the workstation with her good arm, and adjusted the angle of one of the monitors with a wince.

"Hush. You would be upset if someone rearranged your gear when you were gone for a few weeks. And I would have been here sooner if a certain over-protective individual would have let me down here. As it is, I'm lucky he was too busy with a meeting at Queen Consolidated so I could sneak out. I was going stircrazy at the apartment." She logged into the workstation, her brilliant mind already compiling a list of system updates and tasks she would need to take care of. Roy snorted, still amazed at how fast she had refused Oliver's offer to get a new place. With what happened…if it had been his place, Roy wasn't sure he would want to live there. But Felicity had insisted, refusing to let Cupid take anything from them.

"Fine. Its still weird though. I just would feel better if you let me take you back home in a little bit, Oliver is going to be pretty pissed when he…"

"Finds out that you left home and got in a cab by yourself, when you still have over three hundred stitches holding you together?" Came Oliver's clearly irritated voice from the top of the stairs. Felicity ducked her head a bit and Roy just shook his head as he mouthed "I told you so" silently. Oliver fully appeared and made his way to her side, Diggle not far behind him. "Imagine my surprise when I got a text from the doorman of our building, informing me that you had left?"

"…traitor." Felicity whispered, giving Oliver a sheepish smile. "I was super careful, I swear."

Diggle merely laughed and held out his hand, to which Felicity was shocked to find Oliver sigh and reach into his pocket and pull out a large bill, placing it in the other man's hand.

"Really guys?" She asked with irritation that her behavior was apparently that predictable. Oliver, losing with grace, leaned over to capture her mouth quickly for a kiss, smiling against her mouth.

"Incorrigible." He whispered before standing up to take off his suit coat, laying it across the back of her chair. With a sigh of resignation he slipped his hands in his pockets and leaned against her workstation and looked back to John, and then Felicity. "Well, since you are both here there is something that I've wanted to talk with everyone about." Everyone shifted slightly.

"Ever since Cupid, I've been doing a lot of thinking." Felicity's face fell a bit. She had been so worried how Oliver was going to react. His typical reaction to loss or, near loss, as it was thankfully, was to run away. To pull back. She had been quietly waiting for this other shoe to drop from the moment she had woken up in the hospital.

"What happened to Felicity, how Cupid came to even know about her in the first place, was because of a mistake." He pushed off of the table, hands moving out of his pockets. "A mistake that we have been making practically since we started this team." He moved to stand next to the glass case holding his suit. "I put on this mask, took up The Hood, and then The Arrow, not just to become something else for this city, but also to protect Oliver Queen…" He looked over at Felicity. "And those he loves from reprisals. Even with Roy, we do the same now, as Arsenal. But I have never made absolutely certain to extend the same precautions to you Felicity." He nodded to John. "Or you."

He walked to the long wall of locked storage bays and entered a code. "What happened, it happened because we are careless with your identities. That stops now." Hitting the hash key, the bay opened up, revealing a pair of new jackets and gear. With a low whistle John got up from where he had been sitting. Moving to take Felicity's hand as she also got up, he supported her as the pair made their way to where Oliver stood.

Felicity's was a Kevlar lined leather jacket in a dark violet. It came with a mask and a wig, black haired and streaked through with purple. Felicity smiled when she leaned closer to see that the leather mask was etched with lines of circuitry. John's kit was a dark brown with a heavy tactical load out and lower face mask and a hood. At the bottom of each uniform was a name plate etched with a callsign.

"From here out, anytime a member of this team goes out in the field for whatever reason, you go suited up. On coms we will only use callsigns. We share so much of our lives, that even finding out who one of is, and the rest comes apart…too easily."

A huge grin spread across Felicity's face.

"I'm thinking I should have never showed you those college pictures of me." Oliver laughed and leaned in to take some of her weight off her left side.

"I won't say that it didn't inspire me a little bit." He offered with a grin. Watching how her face, still a bit too pale...still too tense with pain she tried to hide made his smile fade. "I can never apologize enough…for what happened to you because of Cupid. But…I can do this."

Felicity relaxed more of her weight into his capable arms, thinking a moment before she responded. A year ago, if something like this had happened he would have probably pulled away from her. He would have misplaced the blame, and let Cupid's actions drive them apart. Seeing this, seeing his solution filled her with a surprising sense of hope. Looking up at him she smiled, running her fingers along the etched letters of her new callsign, Overwatch.

 _"Its perfect."_

The End.

Thanks for sticking with me everyone!


End file.
